KHS on lockdown following death threat via text message

The high school was secured for nearly two hours after a student allegedly threatened his girlfriend by text message Monday morning

Taylor Muller/@TaylorMullerKDE

The Kirksville High School locked down its exterior entrances for nearly two hours after a student allegedly made a death threat to another student via text message Monday morning.

The alleged death threat was brought to high school officials’ attention about 11 a.m. Monday and the building was secured with police and school officials manning the two open entrances by about 11:30 a.m.

The text message was sent from a Kirksville High School student to another student Monday morning. The suspect, who Superintendent Patrick Williams declined to identify, allegedly said he was coming to school to kill his girlfriend.

The high school locked down its exterior doors and posted police and school officials at the two entrances with a picture and description of the suspect.

Classes proceeded as normal inside during the lockdown, however, students were not permitted to leave the building.

Shortly after the threatening text was reported, the school resource officer was able to make contact with the suspect, who told police he was out in the county and unable to make it to town.

Following multiple phone conversations, police were able to locate the suspect and took him into custody at about 1 p.m. The lockdown was lifted shortly after 1 p.m. and an alert text message was sent out to subscribers to the district’s notification system.

Williams said the decision was made to not issue any alerts until the suspect was in custody.

“Since students movements in school were normal and police had several conversations with the young man, we didn’t feel it was necessary to make a full-scale alert,” Williams said. “It was a judgement on their part.”

He said he believed the response was “prudent and proportional.”

The suspect is a student at the high school but had not been at school for at least a week, Williams said. While students were still able to freely move about inside the building, high school officials had to consider student, parent and safety issues in releasing information or issuing further alerts.

“It is such a delicate balance,” said Kirksville High School Principal Randy Mikel. “You don’t want kids to have hysteria and you don’t want to release information to parents that will cause issues because during a lockdown they’re not able to pick up their students.”